The Long Day is Gone

Many thanks to Milla for beta help and to my MGOC members who inspired me.

Bling paused before he pushed open the door to Logan's bedroom. He knew what he would find inside…the same thing he had found every morning since Max had died. Forcing a smile on his face, he turned the handle and pushed the door open.

The room was dark and had a tired, dank smell. He could see the lump where Logan lie in the bed. It had been two weeks, and he had given Logan enough time. Bling crossed the room and pulled open the drapes, flooding the room with light.

"What the hell?" Logan exclaimed, pulling the sheets over his head to stop the light from reaching his face.

"Enough, Logan," Bling answered. "You need to get out of bed, take a shower and get on with your life. Max would be ashamed to see you like this."

Logan responded by grunting from underneath the sheets.

"I put the groceries in the kitchen. I'll be back tomorrow and I'll expect to see you up and around," Bling stated, then turned, pulled the door
closed behind him and left the apartment.

*~*~*~*
Logan turned the shower on and waited until the water had warmed up. He carefully slid from his chair into the shower. He could already feel how much his upper body had weakened during the past two weeks. The water was now warm and he reached for the showerhead, and began to wash the grime of inactivity and grief from his body.

Max had loved this shower, loved the warm water that never seemed to run out. As visions of her crossed his mind once again, Logan dropped the showerhead and leaned forward, sobs choking his body. He cried until the tears finally ran dry, then pressed his right hand down on the tile ledge where he sat until his body was upright again. He leaned forward and turned off the shower, halting the water that had been spraying all over the wall and onto the bathroom floor.

Logan wiped himself down with a towel from the rack near the shower, then wheeled to the bathroom sink where his shaving kit sat. Looking up in the mirror over the sink, he barely recognized himself. His face was drawn and covered with whiskers. His eyes looked dead. Without Max, he had no purpose.

He finished shaving, brushed his teeth and then returned to the bedroom to dress. Each activity felt like it took two hours. He was moving through a fog. Nothing had been this hard since therapy.

Finally, he managed to pull on a pair of pants and a long-sleeved t-shirt. He glanced out the window at the rare sunny Seattle day, sighed and turned to head toward the kitchen.

Bling would have to be satisfied. Logan had tried.

*~*~*~*
"Looking good, man," Bling said as he came into the computer room and stood behind Logan's chair. "Good to see you up and around again."

Logan didn't respond, but kept working on the e-mail he was answering.

"You want to go out, enjoy some of this sun?"

Logan stopped typing and turned to face Bling. "Baby steps, Bling."

"Okay, baby steps it is," Bling replied, laughing.

*~*~*~*
"C’mon, let's do ten more," Bling encouraged.

Logan sighed, but began pulling the dumbbells up toward his shoulders again, curling his arms, working to rebuild the strength he had lost. After a set of ten, he set the dumbbells down on the therapy table.

"Good work, Logan. You're really coming back," Bling said.

Logan just looked at him, a half smile trying to work its way across his face. "Yep," he said, and began to do another set of reps.

"Careful, you don't want to over do," Bling said as he lifted the dumbbell out of Logan's right hand. "Hurt yourself and you'll just set yourself back."

Logan watched as Bling took the other dumbbell from him, then carefully transferred off the table and into his chair. He grabbed a towel from the therapy table and wiped the sweat off his face. Setting the towel back down, Logan moved his chair back from the table and turned to leave the room. He stopped and pivoted back so he was facing the therapist.

"Thanks, Bling," Logan said, his voice low. Without waiting for an answer, he turned and headed for the shower.

*~*~*~*
Bling shifted the bag of groceries in his arm and reached in his pocket for the key. In the past week he had gotten Logan out of bed and working on
Eyes Only business, but he hadn't gotten him out of the apartment yet. Baby steps, Logan had said. He slid the key in the lock and popped the door open.

The stereo was on and Bling could smell a well-spiced tomato sauce cooking in the kitchen. He slid the keys back into his pocket and headed that direction.

"Something smells good in here," he said as he entered the kitchen. He set the bag of groceries down on the table and stopped to address Logan. "Well, you must be feeling better."

The motor on the exoskeleton whirred as Logan turned to face Bling. "Yeah, I guess I'm coming to my senses," he said, chuckling slightly. "Man, if
Max could have seen me, she would have kicked my butt so hard I would have felt it."

"She does see you," Bling replied, soberly.

"Yeah," Logan answered, turning to continue stirring his sauce.

"I got stuff for salad," Bling replied, trying to cut the tension in the room. "Farmer's market was pretty good today, actually. You should have come."

Logan continued stirring the sauce.

"And it's a nice day out there, again. We could check out the waterfront, take a drive out of the city."

Logan tasted the sauce and again began stirring.

"We could grab a beer. Head down to Crash. Original Cindy has called here about fifty times asking for you."

Logan set the spoon on the stove and turned to face Bling. "I'm not going to Crash."

"Okay, that's fair…but Logan, buddy…you need to get out of here."

"I am going," Logan replied. "Why do you think I put on this get up? For looks? I have an appointment with an informant. At three."

"Good," Bling replied. "It's good to get on with life."

"I'm not getting on with anything," Logan answered. "But I have responsibilities. It's not all about me."

Bling did not respond as Logan finished the sauce, drained the pasta and efficiently fixed two plates for lunch. Both men sat down and began to eat. The silence in the room was suffocating.

Finally, Bling set down his fork. "So, where are you meeting this informant?"

Logan paused from eating and looked up at Bling. "Sector six. I've got an address."

"That's good, Logan. You need to..." Bling began.

"I'm know, Bling...I know," Logan answered.

*~*~*~*
Logan sighed as he sat down on the edge of the bed, his pants lying in a heap on the floor, the exoskeleton ready to be mothballed for the night. He had to admit that it felt good to be back outside, to meet with an informant, to try to regain some sense of normalcy.

Max was dead. He would have to acknowledge that at some point, but it was damned near impossible with her scent still in the apartment, with her pager number still on his speed dial. At least three times a day he had to stop himself from reaching to call her, to tell her something that he wanted to share.

And the dreams. They wouldn't stop. There was the dream where she was lying in his arms outside Manticore, but worse, there was the dream that she was lying in his bed. When he had that one, he could feel her in his arms, feel her heart beating below his.

He worked his way out of the exoskeleton and set it beside the bed. Slowly he maneuvered himself so he was leaning back against the pillows, and reached for the book he had been trying to read. The bookmark had only moved five pages in the last week. His mind refused to focus properly and after two paragraphs, he set it back down again.

Logan reached for his chair and transferred back into it. He quickly wheeled into the kitchen and lifted the teapot to see if there was water in it. There was, so he turned the burner on and began to heat the water.

When the teapot whistled, he poured the water into his mug and began to steep a cup of tea. He had just taken a sip when he heard a tap at the door and then the sound of a key being slid into the lock. He set his mug down and undid the brake on his chair.

"It's me," Bling announced from the front hall.

Logan wheeled out to greet him. "Did you forget something?"

"No, just thought I'd come back and make sure you got in okay," Bling answered. He smiled at Logan. "Feel good to be out?"

"Yeah," Logan answered. "I just made tea, you want some?"

"Sure," Bling said. He slipped his coat off, hung it in the hall closet, and then followed Logan back into the kitchen.

Bling sat down at the table and waited while Logan fixed another mug of the steaming tea. Logan set the mugs on a tray on his lap and carefully wheeled over to the table.

"Here you go," he said as he offered the mug to Bling.

"Thanks," Bling responded.

The two men sat quietly, sipping their tea. Finally they finished and simultaneously set their mugs down on the table.

"So," Bling began.

"Yeah," Logan responded.

"You want to..."

"I have a new CD..."

Their voices tripped over one another. They laughed.

"I got a new CD I was going to listen to before you knocked," Logan said. "It's a classic, pretty rare."

"Sounds great," Bling replied.

Bling followed Logan into the living room, taking a seat on the couch as Logan put the disc on his player. The room filled with a woman's smoky jazzy voice.

"Who is this?" Bling asked.

"She won a bunch of Grammy's back a few years…Norah Jones?"

"Yeah, I knew I'd heard this before," Bling replied.

Logan turned and moved his chair back near the couch. "You mind?" he asked, motioning to the spot next to Bling. "It's more comfortable sometimes."

"Not at all," Bling replied.

Logan transferred onto the couch next to Bling.

"So, how are you doing?" Bling asked.

Logan sighed and looked out the window. He hadn't turned on any lights when he came home and the room was lightly lit with the lights from the city and the large full moon hanging overhead.

"I'm doing," he responded, then turned back to look at Bling. "It's just...so...damned...hard," he tried to get out as his voice broke.

Bling reached across to take Logan's hand. "I know man...but holding it in...you're not helping anyone doing that, you know."

Logan nodded, his hand enveloped in Bling's. "I just never...I never thought...I never told..." he choked out.

Bling moved so he could take Logan in his arms. He held Logan as the man began to cry. "It's okay, Logan...let it out."

They sat there, holding one another as the music continued quietly in the background. When the CD ended, Bling leaned back, breaking the embrace. Logan held his gaze for a moment, then leaned in and gently kissed Bling's lips.

Bling broke the kiss and moved back again. "Are you sure?"

"I'm not sure of anything, anymore," Logan answered. "My life is upside down, and I miss Max and..."

Bling reached over and ran his hand down Logan's face. As his fingers moved past Logan's lips, Logan began to kiss them. He pulled Bling's face close to his and kissed him more urgently, his tongue probing into Bling's mouth. Bling opened and gratefully received him.

Bling lounged back against the end of the couch and Logan moved so he was leaning across Bling, still kissing. His hands ranged across Bling's shoulders and back up along his head, reaching and touching every inch of him. His hands moved lower, along Bling's side until he reached the edges of Bling's shirt. He kept kissing as he began to work the fabric up. He had gotten to Bling's nipples when he broke the kiss and eased back.

"Take it off," he said, panting.

Bling slipped his shirt off and cocked his eyebrow. "We don't have to do this."

"Pleasure is a good thing, Bling," Logan responded

Bling laughed. "Yeah, but just so you know this isn't a pity fuck."

Logan pushed himself up so he was sitting upright on the couch and twisted to face Bling. "Wow," he replied as his eyes moved slowly over Bling's
chocolaty, rippled abdomen and well-defined pecs. His skin was unbelievably smooth and silky.

Bling reached over and began to work Logan's shirt off as well. "Turnabout is fair play," he responded.

Bling moved so that he was standing in front of Logan and began to rake his fingers through Logan's spiky hair.

Logan took his free hand and ran it along Bling's chest, then moved down to loosen the top button on Bling's jeans.

The button free, he unzipped the jeans and slipped his hand along Bling's hips, under the boxers that clung to Bling's hips. With his left hand still in Bling's, he pulled the therapist down toward him, Bling's knees resting on either side of Logan's.

Logan released Bling's hand and began to work the man’s jeans and boxers down from his hips. Bling's cock was hard and glistening. Logan leaned forward and kissed Bling's abdomen, tasting his sweet skin along his ribs.

Bling grew harder, his arousal twitching against Logan in anticipation.

"Oh man, Logan...you gotta..."

Logan leaned in and tasted the precum that was dripping from the end of Bling.

"Oh god..."

Logan moved deeper, taking Bling fully within his mouth. He could feel Bling growing even harder, until finally he reached his release.

As Logan finished, Bling fell against him, pressing him into the back of the couch.

Bling slid from Logan's lap onto the coffee table in front of the couch. He reached over and traced his fingers along Logan's bare chest. As he moved lower, Logan squirmed.

"Am I hurting you?" Bling asked.

Logan shook his head and sighed. He tipped his head back to rest on the top of the couch.

Bling reached down to Logan's knees and pulled Logan's legs closer to him. He began to touch Logan again, this time lightly across his shoulders and down past his nipples. He continued moving, down along Logan's side.

"Ooh..." Logan moaned. His eyes were half-closed and a slight smile crossed his face.

Bling leaned forward, his tongue now working around the pink of Logan's nipples. Logan reached up and slid his hands around Bling's waist, drawing him closer again. Bling moved so he was resting on Logan's legs again, his half-erection pressing against Logan's unfeeling thigh.

Bling's tongue moved from nipple to the tender skin near Logan's armpit. He continued to tease the skin as Logan began to moan more loudly.

"Yeah," Logan intoned as he pressed up to meet Bling's touch.

Bling's hands now ranged behind Logan's back, moving along his ribs and down the faded, jagged scar that marked Logan's injury.

Bling pulled Logan closer again, his lips now nipping at Logan's neck, his hands exploring more of the marks on Logan's body.

"Ohmigod," Logan called as his body began to shake. The quivers moved up and down his body as Bling continued to move his lips from spot to spot, his hands moving quickly from where Logan could sense them to where he could not.

"Damn!" Logan called out as he turned back to Bling, kissing him hard and moving his hands over every inch of Bling's dark body.

"I want you," Bling said as Logan broke the kiss.

"I want you in me," Logan responded.

The two stopped, their gazes locked.

"Soon," Bling replied.

Logan nodded and quietly said, "Thank you."

Bling rolled off him and back into the corner of the couch. "What do you mean?"

"For the first time in so long, I feel alive again," Logan answered. "Alive."

Bling laughed. "That's not me, man, that's you."

Logan shook his head. "No, it's not just about this...this thing we're doing, but everything you've done for me. You've seen me at my lowest, at my darkest. I can't repay that..."

"Friendship isn't about buying or doing, Logan. It's about giving what the other needs, when they need it."

Bling stood up and reached for his jeans, long forgotten on the floor.

"You want me to stay?"

"No," Logan anwered. "I think I need...I need to have some time for myself, but I'll see you tomorrow, right?"

"Yeah," Bling answered. He pulled his shirt back on and leaned in to kiss Logan one more time. "Be safe, man."

He turned and moved Logan's chair so that it was in reach of the couch, then left the apartment.

Logan sat on the couch, as the music continued in the background. The lights in the city were slowly going dark. He ran his hand across his face and sighed. The night had been unexpected, but he had not lied to Bling earlier. He suddenly did feel alive again. He had to move on and deal with the hand of cards that life had dealt him.

FIN

Additional A/N: Thanks to Miss Norah Jones for the title and some fabulous music while I was writing.

Feedback gratefully received and acknowledged at rachel _wilder@hotmail.com